Sing Me to Sleep
by CandyApple75
Summary: It was becoming an odd sort of routine. Day after day, Regina found herself in the hospital doing nothing besides watching Emma or staring out the window. After a while she would leave wondering why she had bothered to come in the first place. But the next day found her back in that chair lost in her own thoughts. Swan Queen.


**I'm actually kind of proud of this. That doesn't happen often, but I really like this story. It'll probably be a two or three-shot depending on how I space it out. Feel free to review if you enjoyed! It'll motivate me to write faster.**

* * *

There was a chair in the corner of the room. It was non-descript and well-worn from years of nervous friends and family members staring anxiously at the bed in the opposite corner. The chair had seen joy, grief, and every emotion in between. It was in his chair that Regina sat down on a rainy Tuesday afternoon.

She told herself she was only there because her meeting had been cancelled and she had extra time before Henry would get home. She was here out of boredom. She almost had herself convinced.

Regina crossed her legs and tugged at her pencil skirt. The only sounds in the room were the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor and the rustle of fabric on fabric as she shifted in the chair. Her eyes locked onto the bed and tracked the gentle rise and fall of Emma's chest.

Dr. Whale was baffled. As far as he could tell, Emma was in perfect health both inside and out apart from being in a coma. It was as though she had just fallen asleep and forgotten to wake up.

The flowers and cards on the table next to the bed told Regina that Emma had had her fair share of visitors over the past two weeks. One card in particular caught her attention. It was a piece of lined paper folded in half with the words Get Well Soon scrawled on the front in blue marker. She could tell just by looking at it that it was from Henry. It was made in the same way he had made cards for her when he was little and the sight of it next to another person's bed made her heart twist.

"This was a waste of time," Regina said to herself. "I have a million other things to do." She grabbed her purse and stood up, shooting a glare at Emma before stalking out of the room, eager to put as much distance as she could between herself and the comatose blonde.

* * *

Regina was just wiping the last of the flour from her hands when she heard a knock at the front door. She set the dish towel back onto the counter and rushed to the door, a smile already tugging at her lips. She opened the door hoping against hope that it was Henry. Then she caught sight of the red leather jacket and felt the smile leave her face.

"Miss Swan," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Emma said.

"Do we?"

"Yes. Can I come in? It's freezing out here."

Regina stepped aside and let the blonde into the mansion. A chill fall breeze followed her in and Regina shivered a little. It was cold out.

"Here's the thing," Emma started. "I'm not mom material. I was an idiot to think that I ever could be. I can try as hard as I want to, but I'm never going to be what Henry needs. You are."

"I couldn't agree more," Regina said with a hint of a smirk.

"So I've given it some thought and I decided I'm leaving."

"Yes, I…you're leaving?" The smirk was quickly replaced with thinly veiled shock.

"Yeah. I'm heading back to Boston tomorrow. The longer I stick around here, the more I'm going to start to think I'm what's best for Henry and I'm not. All he's done since I've gotten here is get into trouble." Emma shoved her hands into her coat pockets and shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Now that's not to say I'm walking out of his life for good. He's gotten into my head and I still want to see him, but it's time I stopped trying to be supermom."

Regina was wracking her brain for some response, but she was saved by the ding of the oven timer. "Would you follow me for just a moment?" she asked.

Emma nodded and followed the brunette into the spacious kitchen.

"I picked the last of my apples today and I decided to make turnovers. They're Henry's favorite dessert."

"Well they smell really good."

"Thank you." Regina pulled the pan out of the oven and set it down on the island. "It's an old recipe, but they are delicious." She felt Emma's eyes on her as she bent over to pull a container out of the cabinet. She slid the biggest turnover into it, snapped the lid on, and held it out to Emma with a smile.

"You made me a turnover." It wasn't a question.

"Consider it a snack for the road."

"Well, thanks." Emma took the pastry and started to leave.

"Oh, Miss Swan," Regina called. Emma turned back around. "I do hope you like apples."

* * *

"Henry, I'm home," Regina called as she walked in the door. She got no answer, but the sneaker on the stairs told her exactly where her son was. She bent down to pick up the shoe and walked upstairs to Henry's bedroom. The door was open just a crack. She pushed it open a little more and put the sneaker in its place without a word. There was no point in arguing about it now.

Henry was lying on his bed. He had a comic book open on his lap, but he wasn't paying it any attention. Regina stood in the doorway. She wanted to sit down on the bed and wrap her arms around him, but she didn't want to risk rejection.

"Sweetheart, how would like pizza for dinner?" That seemed like enough of a peace offering for the moment.

"Whatever," Henry replied. "I'm not that hungry."

There was a long pause.

"Did you finish your homework?"

"Yeah."

"Do you want to go see her for a few minutes after dinner?"

"Why? It's not like she's just going to wake up because I visit her."

Regina gave in to her heart's desire and sat down on the bed resting one hand on his knee. "She's going to be okay."

"Why do you care?" Henry demanded. His sharp tone almost made Regina flinch. "I don't know how you did it, but you did something to her. You're evil."

Regina stood up. "I'll go order dinner then."

She shut Henry's bedroom door behind her and walked downstairs. She made her way mechanically into the study to pour herself a glass of cider. Maybe Henry was right. She was evil.

* * *

It had been a long day in an even longer week and Mary Margaret was entirely ready to make herself a mug of tea and sink into a warm bath. She pulled her key out of her pocket and was about to slip it into the door when she noticed that it was already unlocked. Emma must be home. Mary Margaret shrugged, slipped her key back into her pocket, and opened the door.

"Emma?" she called. There was no answer. "Emma, are you home?" Still no answer. Mary Margaret shook off the feeling of discomfort that was creeping up on her. Emma had forgotten to lock the door behind her before. There was no reason to be worried.

She set her things down on the table and noticed a plate sitting there with nothing but a few crumbs on it. She placed in the sink before filling the tea kettle and setting it on the stove. She poured some sugar into a mug and dropped in a tea bag. Turning around, Mary Margaret noticed Emma's red leather jacket still hung on the hook next to the door. It was cold for September. Emma wouldn't just forget her jacket.

Mary Margaret walked slowly upstairs and noticed Emma's bedroom door was opened a crack. She pushed it all the way open and stopped short.

The blonde was laying on the floor, eyes closed, her cell phone lying mere inches from her open hand.

"Emma!" The pixie-haired brunette fell to her knees and pressed two fingers to her friend's neck. She still had a pulse. She was still alive.

Mary Margaret started working on auto-pilot. She grabbed the abandoned cell phone and dialed 911. The tea kettle started whistling downstairs, but she didn't move from Emma's side. She only let go of the blonde's hand when they got to the hospital.

* * *

Regina was back. She sat stiffly in the chair. Her eyes were fixed on the bed, but her mind was racing. The turnover was gone. There was no proof of what she did. No one knew. Well, Henry had his suspicions, but he didn't really know.

Watching Emma's chest move with her breathing, Regina felt a hint of guilt worm its way into her heart. She tried to brush it off. Why should she feel bad? She hated the blonde. But try as she might, Regina couldn't brush away this guilt like she always had. It felt different somehow.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her hair was starting to grow out and it was beginning to curl up at the ends. She hadn't let it grow long since before the curse. Filling her mind with meaningless observations about her hair distracted her from her feelings.

The sky outside was growing darker. Henry's session with Archie would be over soon. For whatever reason though, Regina couldn't bring herself to leave. She didn't want to stay either. She picked at the nail polish on her thumb nail. A piece chipped off and fluttered down to rest on the chair. A single spot of black in a sea of dirty beige.

Footsteps drew Regina back to reality. Mary Margaret entered the room with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. "Madam Mayor?" she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Leaving," Regina snapped. She grabbed her purse and stalked out of the room before Mary Margaret could say anything else.

* * *

"What happened to her?!" Henry cried as he raced into the hospital, Regina not far behind. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't know," Dr. Whale replied. "She's stable and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong, but she's not waking up."

Regina finally caught up and put an arm around Henry's shoulder, holding him close. Mary Margaret had called not twenty minutes ago with the news that Emma was in the hospital. The moment he heard, Henry had run outside and probably would have gone to the hospital on foot if Regina hadn't offered to drive.

"Can I see her?" Henry asked.

"Sure. Go on in." Whale nodded towards the door and started towards the nurse's station with a file folder in his hand.

Henry pushed open the door and walked into the dreary white room. Mary Margaret was still standing next to the bed, dried tear tracks staining her cheeks. "Henry," she said when she saw the boy. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." His voice was hollow and his eyes were frozen on Emma's pale face. "What happened to her?"

"I don't know. I just got home and I found her on the floor."

Regina stood awkwardly in the corner. Part of her didn't want to interrupt the moment, but another part of her didn't know what to say. After all, what could she say? She had cast a sleeping curse on her son's birthmother. How would you make conversation after something like that?

After only a few minutes, Henry walked back over to Regina. "I want to go home."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay a little longer?" Regina asked.

"What's the point? She's not just gonna wake up. Let's go."

Regina stole one last glance back at the prone figure in the bed and the pixie haired brunette standing over her. She turned back around to follow Henry outside. It was dark and cold. Regina pulled her coat closer around her to try to ward off the chill. It didn't help.

* * *

It had been exactly a month since Emma had eaten the turnover. It was nearing Halloween and Regina had been spending every spare moment working on Henry's costume. He wanted to be a knight and even though he was convinced Regina was evil, he still admitted that she made the best costumes. For some reason though, she had decided to visit the hospital again.

All of the flowers on the bedside table were gone now. They had wilted away. The cards were still there though. The bright colors and cheery pictures were a stark contrast to the somber room.

Regina fiddled with the sleeves of her blouse. Somehow she felt less uncomfortable here that she had the other times she had visited. It was becoming a sort of routine. In the afternoons before Henry got home or in the evenings during his sessions, she would come to the hospital. She never really did anything; just sat and stared at the bed or watched the wind or rain outside. After a while, she would leave, wondering why she had bothered to come in the first place. But the next day would find her back in that chair lost in her own thoughts.

Today was no different. Her eyes tracked the rise and fall of Emma's chest. She was almost desensitized to the sound of the heart monitor by now.

Emma still looked unnaturally peaceful. Her blonde hair was splayed out on the pillow like a halo and her emerald eyes were softly closed. She was entirely still.

Regina crossed her legs and then uncrossed them. She swallowed hard and then without really realizing what she was doing, she stood up.

She grabbed the arms of the chair and inched it just a little closer to the bed.

Then she sat back down.


End file.
